Niko

by Kayti Nika Raet

  Chapter 23

  Everything moved slowly or at least that was how it felt in Niko’s mind.

  All three girls screamed as the helicopter tipped toward the caustic water. They were too close to the shore and any water that splashed on them would burn through their unprotected skin.

  As one both girls turned somehow managing not to drop Ben and the mix of determination and mortal terror lent speed to their legs. Niko was right behind them.

  Splinters flew everywhere and rained down around them. She didn’t dare look back but she could imagine what was going on behind her.

  The now useless supplies tumbling inside the helicopter like a rattle as the aircraft pitched irrevocably toward the water. She flinched at the sound of the splash and the two girls ducked though nothing other than a high wall or a great distance would prevent droplets from hitting them.

  They kept running as water splattered on the ground behind them. The backpack slapped against her back as she dashed the fabric grating against her open cuts. She slowed down and eventually stopped. The girls stopped as well.

  Niko looked back. The helicopter had landed upside down in the lake. It wasn’t completely submerged but eventually the acid would eat its way up and the helicopter would disappear completely.

  “You must run fast.” The one with the longer hair panted. “Not many people can keep up with us. I’m Normandy Yamada, call me Norm.” She tilted head toward Lo and said, “Lola Pon.”

  “Sorry about driving such a hard bargain.” Lo said trying to shift Ben into a more comfortable position. “Is he your boyfriend?”

  She had less than a second to make her decision and Niko didn’t blink. “Yes.” She’d do whatever it took to keep him alive; it was her fault that they were in this predicament.

  Ben groaned and his eyes fluttered open. “Wha...?” He still looked disoriented as he struggled to his feet. He nearly fell as he tried to put weight on his bad leg and they only just managed to keep him from landing on the acid soaked ground.

  “What happened, Niko?” He asked. “Where are we? Owww, my head.”

  Niko gave him a quick summary of what had happened so far, introduced him to Lo and Norm and told him about the injury to his leg which he hadn’t seemed to notice until then.

  He swore as he gazed down at the piece of metal sticking out of his leg just above his boot. “Please tell me you rescued the pack with the MRG in it.”

  “Um...” She’d never had a moment to root inside the bag and find out if there was anything other than water in it. “We should find someplace safe. There might be Slithers.” She looked at Lo and Norm, hopefully after introducing themselves they wouldn’t be so quick to take the bag and leave her and Ben stranded and vulnerable.

  “Come on.” Lo said gruffly. “Follow us.”

  With Ben awake their progress was slow as he limped along leaning heavily on Niko his teeth gritted against the pain. Everyone kept an eye out for Slithers as they walked. They were the perfect group to ambush, Ben was injured, and Niko had no weapons unless one was optimistic enough to count the bag on her back, and even if Lo and Norm were able to fend off a Slither they had no weapons either.

  “So the helicopter’s completely gone?” Ben asked her. His breath came out in pants and his face was slick with sweat that dripped off and stung her cuts.

  “Yep.” She said. She didn’t see a house anywhere only crumbling buildings and skeleton trees. The clear blue sky she had admired in the air meant that there was no cloud cover from the relentless sunshine beating down on their group.

  “They’re going to kill me.” He muttered. They had destroyed the Black Rose’s chance of a convenient escape.

  After a few more minutes of walking they stopped. “Here we are.” Lo said. “Home sweet home.”

  “Thank the gods.” Ben said with feeling.

  Niko frowned; she didn’t see a home at all only more of the same landscape that had surrounded them for the past twenty minutes. She shifted her weight, if things went bad Ben was going to have to stand on his own for a few minutes.

  Lo caught sight of her expression and gave her a wicked grin. “Don’t worry we’re not going to ambush you.” Niko didn’t think she was talking about just her and her companion and sure enough a few people began to come out of a ruin that was only marginally less damaged than the others.

  “This can’t be good.” Ben said. He had lost a lot of blood and his words were beginning to slur. Niko couldn’t help but agree with him.

  “This is our family.” Norm said as the people drew closer. “We live underground. Safer that way.”

  Niko relaxed slightly.

  “What took you guys so long?” Lo asked. “If this was an attack we’d all be dead.”

  “Sorry about that Lo,” said one of the guys as he drew near. He jerked a thumb over his shoulder. “Our watch decided to leave his post without telling anybody.”

  The person in question dashed toward Lo. “I did not!” He looked about eight years old with light brown skin and tight blond curls set wildly about his head. “I was taking a dump. I did tell someone.” He stomped his foot. “I did!”

  Norm wrapped an arm around the kid’s thin shoulders. “It’s okay Ed, we believe you.”

  Ed folded his arms across his narrow chest looking vindicated.

  “Let’s go inside.” Lo said. “We don’t want the Slithers coming around sniffing for something to eat.”

  They headed inside of the building, which was as nearly dilapidated inside as it was outside. Most of the roof was missing and pieces of it lay in chunks on the ground. All of the windows were blown out and there was an outline of stairs on the wall indicating that the building had once had multiple stories.

  They trekked under the dim shadow of the remaining roof to a square of tarp lying on the ground. Norm kicked it aside revealing a set of metal doors leading underground. They climbed down the steps. Ben was leaning more of his weight on her and he no longer walked so much as shuffled forward.

  A mix of gas and solar lamps peppered a narrow hallway barely wide enough for two people to walk side by side comfortably. It made a great natural defense.

  Niko hadn’t realized she’d spoken out loud until Lo agreed with her saying. “That’s the idea. If Slithers do manage to break in we’ll have an easier time holding them back if they’re all confined here. I’m surprised you would figure it out living in the city and all.”

  “I used to live out here.” Niko said catching Lo taking a quick glance at her high quality clothing. “My brother’s still here. He’s missing. I’m looking for him.”

  They finally stepped out of the hallway into a large room. Blankets were scattered around one side and what Niko assumed to be a kitchen/living area was on another. There was another smaller room near the corner that needed no explanation. The whole place reminded her of her old home back when both her brothers were still alive though she was certain hers wasn’t imbibed with a strange musty smell like sweat-stained clothes and cooked beans. Her home hadn’t had a smell at all.

  Niko led Ben over to a mattress and he sat down heavily. She crouched before his injured leg. The metal shard stuck out just above the top on his boot and his jeans were turning dark from the blood leaking out of the wound. It was undoubtedly filling his boot like the leaking water had with hers.

  “I’m going to pull it out.” She said reaching for the jagged metal piece.

  He slapped her hand away. “Are you nuts? Do you want me to bleed to death?” Though he was pretty weak from blood loss Niko’s hand still stung from the slap. Ben took a deep shuddery breath. “Let’s look in the bag first before you try to kill me.”

  “Yeah, what’s in the bag Niko?” Lo agreed. “You haven’t been keeping your side of the bargain here.”

  Niko tugged the bag off her shoulders wincing as it aggravated the cuts on her back. It was no longer leaking water and she set it down on the ground. She hoped there was medicine inside along with the water something
that would curry instant favor with the group as well as help Ben but when she unzipped it what slipped out was neither.

  Instant meal packets spilled out onto the floor. Ben groaned while Niko stared at the matte silver packaging in confusion. “You saved the food bag.”

  Niko dug further into the backpack. “But there was water in here. It kept dripping on me.”

  Ben rubbed his forehead. “We divide everything up, food, medicine, water, clothes, they all go into different bags but water takes priority so the other bags get about a gallon of water each.”

  Right at the bottom were two half gallon containers. One was full while the other only had a sip left. She couldn’t believe she’d let it leak, being in the city around all that free water had made her soft and now they didn’t even have enough water for one person. She set the container down as well.

  Rooting though the side pockets produced a cracked mirror, a roll of gauze, a pair of small golden scissors and a lighter but no MRG.

  While she and Ben were disappointed with the find Lo and the rest of the group seemed interested, turning over the instant meal packets curiously, finally Norm began to read one out loud. She read slowly squinting at the print and stumbling over some of the longer words. “Instameal® provides your daily allotment of vitamins and minerals in one simple great tasting serving! Simply remove our completely ...” She paused frowning viciously as she tried to decipher the word. “ ... Edible! seal and wait a few seconds to enjoy your piping hot Instameal®!” She flipped it around and learned that it was an Instameal packet called Delicious Tomo-soup.

  She broke the seal and everyone oohed as it popped and sizzled filling the room with the scent of tomato soup.

  Ben looked down at his injured leg. “I guess this means we’ll have to go basic. I don’t suppose you’re carrying the trusty little knife you were planning to stab me with are you?”

  Niko gasped, in all that had happened in the past half-hour she’d forgotten about the stuff she had put in her pockets. She spread it out on the mattress including the pocketknife she carried but it wasn’t the knife that he picked up.

  He held the photo of Jared lightly in his hand reading the inscription of his last known whereabouts. He looked up at her and she stared back. It didn’t take very long for him to put two and two together.